Walmart proposed a legal settlement Tuesday over the superstore’s role in the opioid crisis.
The chain offered a $3.1 billion legal settlement over the impact of prescription opioids sold at their pharmacies, making a significant promise to state, local, and tribal governments and families continuing to grapple with the drug addiction pandemic sweeping the nation, according to a press release. Similar proposals have been made by CVS Health and Walgreen Co., each of which has offered to pay around $5 billion.
Walmart “strongly disputes” allegations made in the lawsuits against the corporation, and does not admit any liability in their payment plan, which equates to roughly 2% of its quarterly revenue.
“Walmart believes the settlement framework is in the best interest of all parties and will provide significant aid to communities across the country in the fight against the opioid crisis, with aid reaching state and local governments faster than any other nationwide opioid settlement to date,” the company said in a statement.
Opioid Crisis Victims Confront Billionaire Sackler Family Directly In Makeshift Trial https://t.co/b2PuLPnDWP
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) March 11, 2022
Earlier in the year, the Sackler family, who ran Purdue Pharma, the creators of the deadly prescription opioid OxyContin, faced those left in the wake of the crises caused by widespread availability of the heroin-derived substance. The Department of Justice also ordered the family to pay $4.325 billion over nine years to those states sued by the company in relation to the crisis. (RELATED: Firefighters In Phoenix Say They’re Running Out Of Narcan For Overdose, Poisoning Calls)
The opioid crisis is continuing to rage across the U.S., fueled by cheap street drugs often trafficked over the southern border by South and Central American cartels working with Chinese suppliers.